Church in Újezdec
It is one of the oldest churches in the Czech Republic. Already in 1350 it was a parish church. The parish was probably not
big, because there were parish churches also in several nearby villages (Bělčice, Hvožďany, Kocelovice, Lnáře). The
oldest record about the local priest comes from 1362, when the parish had 249 Catholics.
On 21st February 1362, the priest Přibyslav of Kasejovice was appointed a priest of Újezd by patron Jan of Újezd. Before
this happened, the patron Jan of Újezd was assassinated and the priest Přibyslav did not stay in Újezdec for a long time.
Between 1363 and 67, the brothers Kolman, Bohuslav (Buzek), Huk, and Přibyslav of Křikava u Černívska had the right of
appointing (i.e. patronage) to the church. On 14th July 1363, new patrons appointed priest Ondřej of Plánice to the parish
of Újezd. Unfortunately, he died in 1367. Already on the 3rd June of the same year, at the request of the patrons, brothers
of Křikava, the priest Jindřich, son of Kuník of Příbram, was appointed to the office. He was installed by pastor of
Mirovice.
Another evidence that the local parish was very small is a record from 1384. It states that that year the priest of Újezdec
paid only 6 groschen of papal tithe.
On 18th May 1401, after the death of Jindřich (perhaps Kuník), was appointed to vacant parish Peter of Dobřany. At that
time the patron was Oldřich (armiger) of Újezdec. Peter of Dobřany died in 1414 and on 27th April, on the proposal of patron
Oldřich of Miličín was appointed Jan of Rožmitál, pastor of the Prague diocese. The installer of this installation was
the priest Odolen of Bělčice.
Jan of Rožmitál resigned in 1418. On 9th December of the same year, the priest Matěj was appointed to the parish of Újezdec.
The appointment was confirmed by the then patron of the parish Jan Mládenec of Újezdec, son of Oldřich of Miličín. Matěj
stayed in Újezdec very shortly. Already on May 4, 1419, he exchanged a parish with Petr in Jíloviště. And Peter was the
last parish priest of Újezdec who appears in written reports.
After the Thirty Years' War, the vicarage was abandoned, and the church was assigned to the newly established parish of Běleč
as a branch office.
The ground plan consists of three interconnected rectangular spaces. The largest of them (nave) with external dimensions
of 11.40 x 10.25 metres has a longer side situated in the east-west direction. In the middle of the shorter eastern wall there
is the so-called triumphal arch, which enters the presbytery, whose external dimensions are 6.85 x 7.80 metres. The third
smallest space (vestibule) with external dimensions of 5.15 x 4.50 metres adjoins the northern wall of the nave and is connected
with it by a Gothic portal.
The vestibule forms a link between the cemetery and the church. Through this barrel-shaped space the visitor enters the nave,
the main space of the church. Here the faithful have been gathering for regular worship for centuries.
The nave with an internal width of 6.85 metres has peripheral masonry approximately 1.70 metres thick. In its southern wall
there are two windows with a Gothic stone tracery. When you visit the church, you will enter through the Gothic portal (there
is a Gothic broken arch on the Romanesque columns) from the period around 1240–1250 set in the northern wall.
The eastern side of the nave is formed by a semi-circular, right-angled staggered triumphal arch made of stone blocks with
a thickness of 1.40 metres, which connects the nave with the presbytery. On its sides there are two opposite side altars from
around 1700 with acantic frames and modern sculptures. On the left altar there is a statue of St. Joseph and on the right
one a statue of St. John of Nepomuk. The ceiling of the nave is flat, wooden. The plank floor dates from 1891.
According to a survey by Ing. Tomáš Kyncl and Josef Kyncl from the Dendrochronological Society, the tie beams and secondary
trussing elements above the nave are made of wood felled in 1444-45. The other wood of this roof is from 1864–65. (data
are taken from http://www.dendrochronologie.cz/databaze?pz=17).
The staircase in the western wall of the church enters the choir (grandstand). One of the oldest and most dominant pieces
in the church is the organ. Its rich sound has been accompanying the local church ceremonies for centuries. It is an organ
positive with one pedal. It has a central tower and two side fields. The cabinet is marbled, enriched with acanthus carvings
with a tape over the whistles. Prospect whistles are original, decorated with embossed crosses. The organ console is built
into the postament with its back to the altar. The tracture (piece that connects keys and pedals with air reservoir valves)
is mechanical.
The instrument was built in 1736 by the important organist Fridrich Ferdinand Semrad from Sedlec. It is most probably the
oldest surviving instrument of Semrád workshop, preserved mostly in its original condition. For this exceptionality, the
Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic declared the organ in the Church of St. Vorshila in Újezdec a cultural monument
pursuant to Section 3 of Act No.20 / 1987 Coll on 31st October 2000.
On the retaining wall of the organ loft is located "Stations of the Cross", constructed in 1887 at the expense of settlers.
Its author is Bedřich Kamarýt, Dean of Deštná near Soběslav.
The square tower, which has become a dominant feature of this building, stands out on the northwest corner of the nave. It
used to be seen from a great distance. Unfortunately, in 1891 the roof of the tower was lowered during church repairs. On
the eastern, western and northern sides, there are double Romanesque windows over two floors, divided by granite columns.
On the southern side there is a double window on one floor. By October 16, 1916 there were three bells in the tower:
The oldest bell - without an inscription and a picture, according to its slender shape and silver voice it can be dated to
13th century. As it was without the inscription and the year it had to go to the army under the ministerial decree on October
16, 1916. It was 47 cm wide, 40 cm high and weighed 55.8 kg, tuning "a". Military administration paid 4K / 1kg (55.8 x 4 =
223.20K). This amount was deposited in the cash box of the patron of Lnáře.
The second bell – casted in 1690 by Michal Bedřich Schoenfeldt (1650–97) in the Prague Old Town. It is 74 cm wide, 56
cm high and weighs 250 kg, tuning "h". At the top of the bell there is one-line inscription in roman alphabet saying: "GOS
MICH FRIDRICH SCHOENFELDT IN DER ALTT STATT PRAG ANNO 1690" and below it is a flower wreath.
There is another inscription at the saying: "SANCTA V. ET. M. URSULA CUM UMDECIM MILLIBUS VIRGINUM ORA FOR NOBIS" - Holy
Virgin and Martyr Vorshila with eleven thousand virgins pray for us.
During the first requisition the bell was preserved because it was casted before 1700. During the second it was saved by
Conservatory in Klatovy and Prague "as historical, with the foundation of the church connected and inevitable for service
needs of the filial church in Oujezdec."
The third bell "death knell" - from 1511 survived the requisitions hidden in the tower. It was casted by an unknown bellmaker.
It is 26 cm wide, and 18 cm high. At the top of the bell there is an inscription written in old Gothic and reads: "Ave + Maria)
- (Anno Domini M) - (CCCCCXI) - (." - Hail Mary, Anno Domini 1511.
Wenceslas Bell - weighing 117 kg was taken from the tower of the church in Bělčice and in 1924 hung in the church of St.
Vorshila. Unfortunately, it did not last long there as it was requisitioned in March 1942.
The presbytery - a place at the main altar for clergy and ministrants, is slightly elevated and often separated by railings.
Inner plan of the presbytery in the church of St. Vorshila is 5 x 5 metres. Its gothic cross vault was replaced by a flat
ceiling. To this day, fragments of consoles have been preserved as traces of the Gothic vault. The current ceiling is at the
same height as the ceiling of the nave. By the eastern wall of the presbytery is built the main altar dedicated to St. Vorshila.
It is a Baroque, portal building with plastic decoration from the beginning of the 18th century. The altarpiece of the patroness
of the church, St. Vorshila was painted in 1898 by Bedřich Kamarýt, Dean of Deštná near Soběslav.
The shingle roof of the church and the tower were replaced in 1900 by roofing tile. Unfortunately, as Judřich Kučera, a
teacher from Bělčice, noted in the Újezd Chronicle, the roof of the tower was lowered due to improper economic reasons.
In the same year the stone wall around the cemetery was repaired.
It may come interesting, so I present an overview of church ceremonies held in Oujezdec as written on 25th January 1918 by
František Mařík, parish priest in Bělčice: “Big mass with the chaplain in Bělčice takes place every fourth Sunday
and on middle feasting days, on Tuesday of Cross days with a pilgrimage to the countryside and also on Sunday after St.Vorishila
day, after which on Monday it is the annual requiem for the deceased settlers there. The priests of Bělčice still carry
out this ancient duty - to minister in Oujezdec according to the ancient custom. The parish priest gives carriages for worship
every fourth Sunday, middle feasting days and pilgrimage and Oujezd village does so on Tuesdays of the Cross Days and on Monday
after the pilgrimage to the annual requiem for the deceased. If a funeral is held in Oujezdec at the local cemetery, a carriage
from Oujezdec arrives for priests, the choir and the singers.”
In the local chronicle we find a laconic remark relating to 1934: "The church was repaired in the summer". Unfortunately,
we were not able to find out the scope of this repair nor its reason.
From the Second World War, there are two notes concerning the bells in the Church of St. Vorshila. The first relates to 1941:
"One bell was taken from the local church in March and a second, the bigger one, later. They were dropped from the tower to
the cemetery, regardless of whether they break or not. Moreover, the village had to transport them for free. The second one
was a memorial bell with the inscription, and it was protected by the Heritage Office and left during the previous World War.
The small bell, the death knell was buried in time and thus saved. "
The second note dates to 1945: "In September of that year, a bell was hung on the tower in our ancient church, an old memorial
bell consecrated to the memory of St. Vorshila, which was taken away from us during the occupation. The Dean Antonín Jarolímek,
priest in Bělčice, has great credit for this return. There was a great celebration during the hanging, in which, the compatriot
František Lehečka thanked the priest for his merit on behalf of all citizens. "
In 1972 the facade was completely reconstructed. The old plaster was removed to the granite. The new layer of plaster then
did not cover the corner stones. They were just cleaned and grouted.
Another major reconstruction took place in 2003. The building got not only a new facade but also a roof covering. On that
occasion was newly gilded the cross at the top of the tower. The joy of the parishioners of the new look of the house of god
did not last long. Not only did the plaster fall off in several places shortly after the work was finished, but also part
of the drainage of the new copper eaves was stolen. Now the water runs down the facade and it is only a matter of time when
it gets totally destroyed.
source: http://ujezdec.unas.cz/index.php?obsah=pamatky
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